Gene Notes

Some random and some not-so-random thoughts on family history.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sympathy Saturday - Uncle Fred

Fred was married to my mother's aunt Hilda. I may have met him a time or two at family functions, but since my mom wasn't really close to her relatives other than her brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nieces and nephew, I may have not been conscious of him. I grew up referring to her cousins as aunts. I guess she thought the concept of 1st cousins a generation removed was too much for our childish minds.

At any rate, when great uncle Fred was referred to, it was in whispers. It wasn't until much later as an adult that mom told me that Jones wasn't really his name and that she thought he had done time in prison.

When I started researching the family, one of my cousins, pointed me in the direction of his name. Once I had that, a trip to the state archives in Lansing, Michigan (I am, of course, a former Michigander) and the help of my favorite archivist (my cousin, Mary), I found uncle Fred's prison record.

Fred was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, February 11, 1898. From 1922 to 1924 he was incarcerated in Jackson Prison, in Jackson, Michigan. He married Hilda on August 12, 1924 in Detroit, Michigan, and they had three children. He died May 18, 1977 in Warren, Michigan.